Category: NDSU

This year, the UND Fighting Hawks Football team will be the first to take the field with the new Fighting Hawks logo displayed proudly on the helmet. Many players are beginning to embrace the name as well as some recruits as well. UND Football was an agonizing loss at home against the Idaho State Bengals away from making the playoffs last season. If they win that game they maybe would have had another chance at an upset in the Fargodome in the second round.

Going forward, UND’s slogan this year is Leave No Doubt. This team wants to show the selection committee its best week in and week out. This team is lead by QB Keaton Studsrud and a strong defense that returns nine starters. Every player in coach Bubba Schweigert’s lockeroom has bought in to his strong run first smashmouth style of play which has generated opportunities for turnovers and big plays on offense.

One other thing remains to be discussed, the logo. UND Football is absolutely leading the way on campus through volunteering to be the first team to wear the logo on its helmets. Other teams cannot due to jersey ordering rules and requirements.I do not begrudge any of the other teams for choosing not to or for not being able to this season.

I do praise UND Football and its staff of leaders captained by coach Schweigert for finding a way to integrate the logo as quickly as possible. Maybe the football team’s leadership will help a few UND supporters realize that they truly support the players and not just the logo. While the logo matters, what matters more is the people wearing them. UND Football is embracing the logo in a quick manner,I look forward to the day where the rest of UND does.

Carson Wentz, a Bismarck native and a North Dakota State University graduate was picked second overall to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2016 NFL draft. If you’re from North Dakota, then you need no introduction to Wentz. For those less familiar, he led NDSU to two out of the five consecutive FCS championships than NDSU currently holds. In his senior year he started in seven games and has a completion rate of 62.5% for 1,651 yards. He also has 17 touchdowns with only four interceptions, along with six touchdowns for himself. Wentz was named to the College Sports Information Directors Association All-American squad for two consecutive years.

From an analytical standpoint, Wentz’s greatest strength comes from how he deals under pressure in the pocket. He is smart, and he knows when to run the ball and when to throw it. When he throws, it is high and accurate. His weakness comes from having issues with his footwork in the pocket and from locking on to the receiver that he is intending to pass to, which gives more time for defense to get to that intended player.

Coming from an FCS school, it is surprising to many that he was picked so highly. During the first weeks of practice, it is starting to become evident that Wentz has a lot of growing to do before he will be ready to make his debut onto the NHL field. Head Coach Doug Pederson noticed that he has a wobble to the ball at times, but NDSU has seen this from him before, and a little wobble has never stopped Wentz in the past. Carson told reports this week that timing and accuracy are more important than how pretty the ball looks at the end of the day, as all rookies need to have time to get used to playing on a different level of playing. I am not saying that Wentz could not start this year and perform well if it was needed, but I do think that he needs some more time to mature.